One way to enhance your personal statement is with an introduction that sets your essay apart. The introduction is the most important part of your essay and its sole purpose is primarily to engage the reader. Ideally, your introduction should grab the reader's attention from the very first sentence. If an introduction can… If you're applying to graduate school, you'll need a personal statement that sets you apart from others applying for graduate school. One way to improve your personal statement is with an introduction that sets your essay apart. The introduction is the most important part of your essay and its sole purpose is primarily to engage the reader. Ideally, your introduction should grab the reader's attention from the very first sentence. If the introduction can orient the reader to the focus of the essay, it can be very helpful. However, orientation is not an essential purpose, as this can be achieved gradually throughout the essay. Many students make the mistake of over-explaining in the opening paragraph what they are going to talk about in the rest of the essay. Such paragraphs might include something like the following: “My journey to graduate school has been shaped by a variety of experiences, including academic study, volunteer work, and extracurricular activities.” This is simply a waste of time and space. The reader already knows you're going to cover these things and most likely thinks, “Get to the point.” If your essay starts with a paragraph like this, the best course of action would be to delete it. Your second paragraph, which begins to discuss a specific experience, will serve much better as an introduction. You may also find that the later paragraph works even better. In general, you should bring your most compelling experience to the fore and then structure your essay around it. Below is a list of possible approaches to the introduction with an emphasis on the opening sentence itself. Jump Right In Some people will start with a compelling experience, but will insist that we introduce that experience with a very general statement, such as, "From the first look through the microscope, I knew science was my calling." The reason people open with such a statement, it's often that they feel compelled to rephrase the question in some way. This is unnecessary and will more than likely bore your reader right out of the gate. You should be able to demonstrate your reasons without relying on such a bland summary sentence. If, on the other hand, you are tempted to use the first sentence to explain the context, you should respect the reader's intelligence enough to save that context for later. once you get the reader's attention. Consider the following example, taken from this essay: “Perhaps the most important influence that has shaped the person I am today is my upbringing in the family-oriented traditional Persian and Zoroastrian culture. My family has been an important source of support in all the decisions I have made, and the three basic principles of Zoroastrianism—good words, good deeds, and good thoughts—have been my guiding principles in life.” Although the question asks the applicant to describe his influences, he does not have to repeat this line. In addition, he may delay explaining the context of his upbringing. Go through the following restructuring, which immediately grabs the reader's attention and conveys the necessary context in time: “Good words, good deeds and good thoughts - these are the three basic Zoroastrian principles that have shaped my guiding principles. My upbringing in traditional Persian and Zoroastrian culture and all the family support that comes with that really defined me more than any other influence.” The advice to jump right in applies to anecdotes as well. Rather than setting the stage for a story with boring exposition, starting your essay with an interesting action is often an effective way to engage the reader. Show your originality If you can differentiate yourself from the first sentence, then you will have improved your chances of acceptance. Of course, you shouldn't just throw out random facts about yourself. The inclusion of such statements should fit within the larger context of your essay. But if you are going to emphasize a unique aspect of your life, then it should definitely appear now. State the problem By stating the problem, you create immediate curiosity because the reader will want to see how you solve it. This applicant actually starts with a rhetorical question and wastes no time. The remainder of the essay deals with the concept of "middleware" and its relevance to the applicant's career. This applicant, on the other hand, is dealing with a more pressing social problem that affects her personally. The rest of the essay does not aim to solve the problem, but rather to demonstrate her depth of understanding and the degree of her commitment to the cause. Instead of dwelling on external problems, you can also discuss personal difficulties and how they overcame them. There are many options here, but what unites them is an element of drama, and you should use this to your advantage when creating a strong lead. worth considering. The same caveats that we listed for humor in the Tone section apply here. Try to be subtly and creatively clever rather than outrageous. This applicant begins with a joke about his future institution: “You'd think I'd enjoy winters in Indiana. But here I am, asking for a return, ready to dig my jacket out of storage. It's not like I've been gone long enough to forget the cold. In some ways, I feel like that cloud is still hanging over me.” The introduction continues with a joke about the applicant's potential concerns. These considerations serve no substantial purpose except to demonstrate that the writer is familiar with the school. On the other hand, they make the reader more comfortable with the writer's style as he goes on to make more serious notes.
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